Zach Root Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Zachary Bishop Root
Born 02/06/2004 in Fort Myers, FL
Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 177 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School East Carolina
Drafted in the 1st round (40th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025 (signed for $2,197,500).

View Draft Report

School: Arkansas Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.4

BA Grade: 50/High

Root pitched as a reliable starter for two seasons for East Carolina in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Arkansas for his 2025 junior year. The jump from American Athletic to Southeastern Conference competition didn’t phase him. Root was a consistent starter all year for one of the best pitching staffs in the country and posted a 3.62 ERA over 19 starts and 99.1 innings with a career-high 30% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Root has a filled-out physique and a funky delivery that features a steep tilt in his leg lift and a three-quarters arm slot. He has a deep arsenal and impressive feel to land his secondaries. He added a tick of velocity to his fastball in 2025 and sits around 93 mph but will touch 98. The fastball has never been a consistent swing-and-miss pitch for Root. Instead he goes to curveball, changeup and slider to miss barrels. Root’s 78-82 mph curveball has solid depth and 1-to-7 shape that he uses at a high clip versus lefthanded and righthanded hitters alike. He favors his mid-80s changeup as a third piece against righthanded hitters and a harder, mid-80s slider that has a cutter look in the upper 80s against lefties. Each of his secondaries are at least average, and Root ties together the entire mix with above-average control. Root is a high-probability starter with back-of-the-rotation upside and fits solidly inside the first two rounds.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55.

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Draft Prospects

School: Arkansas Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.4

BA Grade: 50/High

Root pitched as a reliable starter for two seasons for East Carolina in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Arkansas for his 2025 junior year. The jump from American Athletic to Southeastern Conference competition didn’t phase him. Root was a consistent starter all year for one of the best pitching staffs in the country and posted a 3.62 ERA over 19 starts and 99.1 innings with a career-high 30% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Root has a filled-out physique and a funky delivery that features a steep tilt in his leg lift and a three-quarters arm slot. He has a deep arsenal and impressive feel to land his secondaries. He added a tick of velocity to his fastball in 2025 and sits around 93 mph but will touch 98. The fastball has never been a consistent swing-and-miss pitch for Root. Instead he goes to curveball, changeup and slider to miss barrels. Root’s 78-82 mph curveball has solid depth and 1-to-7 shape that he uses at a high clip versus lefthanded and righthanded hitters alike. He favors his mid-80s changeup as a third piece against righthanded hitters and a harder, mid-80s slider that has a cutter look in the upper 80s against lefties. Each of his secondaries are at least average, and Root ties together the entire mix with above-average control. Root is a high-probability starter with back-of-the-rotation upside and fits solidly inside the first two rounds.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55.
School: Arkansas Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.4

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Root followed up what was a solid freshman season for East Carolina in 2023 with a breakout sophomore campaign in 2024 when he pitched his way to a 3.56 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 68.1 innings. He has a funky delivery and attacks from a three-quarters slot. Root’s fastball has been up to 96-97 mph, but its shape is rather generic and it doesn’t miss a ton of bats. Both his slider and changeup—especially the change—have consistently flashed plus and generated whiff rates north of 45% during the 2024 season. He transferred to Arkansas for the 2025 season.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50
School: Fort Myers (Fla.) HS Committed/Drafted: East Carolina
Age At Draft: 18.5
An athletic and unconventional looking lefthander, Root has gotten taller and stronger over the last year or so and his stuff followed that upward trend as well this spring. After pitching in the upper 80s and touching 90 last summer and fall, Root has gotten his fastball up to 93 mph. He has also thrown a breaking ball in the mid-to-upper 70s and a changeup in the 78-80 mph range—both of which have a chance to be average pitches and flash above-average. Root is an uncomfortable at-bat for hitters, with deception in his delivery thanks to significant tilt in his leg lift and a fast arm from a three-quarter slot. There’s a bit of head whack in his finish, but in general he receives good reviews for his control. Root is committed to East Carolina but has trended in the right direction and has plenty of positive indicators.